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REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSION 

FOR  THE   PURPOSE   OF 

Examining,  Testing  and  Investigating 

VOTING  MACHINES 


TO    THE 


SENATE    AND    ASSEMBLY 
Thirty-Third   Session   of  the    Legislature 


OF  THE 


State   of   California. 


7w^ 


OAKLAND 
ENQUIRER    PUBLISHING    COMPANY 
1898 


REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSION 

FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF 

Examining,  Testing  and  Investigating 

VOTING  MACHINES 

TO    THE 

SENATE    AND    ASSEMBLY 
Thirty-Third   Session   of  the    Legislature 

OF  THE 

State   of   California.     ^> !stt^ 

/"lib>U 


OAKLAND 
ENQUIRER    PUBLISHING    COMPANY 
1898 


Oakland,  November  15,  1898. 


To  the  Senate  and  Assembly  of  the 
Thirty-third  Session  of  the  Legis- 
lature of  the  State  of  California  : 


fl 


|u  compliance  with  an  Act — (see  Appendix  "A") — passed 
at  the  last  session  of  the  Legislature — approved  March 
27, 1897, — creating  a  Commission  for  the  purpose  of  examining, 
testing  and  investigating  Voting  Machines,  the  undersigned 
were  duly  appointed  Commissioners  by  the  Governor.  On 
May  21,  1897,  this  Commission  met  in  San  Francisco  and 
organized  by  the  election  of  W.  M.  Hinton  as  president  and 
C.  B.  Morgan  as  secretary.  An  office  was  engaged  in  the 
Central  Bank  Building,  Oakland,  and  regular  meetings  were 
ordered  to  be  held  on  the  first  and  third  Saturdays  in  each 
month.  Notice  of  the  organization  of  the  Commission,  the 
time  and  place  of  meeting,  and  the  purpose  for  which  it  was 
created,  was  given  to  the  Associated  Press  and  generally 
published  in  the  newspapers.  Special  notice  was  given,  from 
time  to  time,  by  letter  containing  a  copy  of  the  Act  creating 
the  Commission,  to  the  following  named  Inventors  and  those 
interested  in  Voting  Machines: 

DATE.  NAME.  ADDRESS. 

May  25,  1897.  .Hamilton  Kibbie Oblong,  111. 

May  25,  1897.  .F.  X.  St.  Louis Elk  Creek  P.  O.,  Glenn  Co., 

Cal. 

June   5,  1897 .  .  A.  O.  Abbott Hudson,  Mich. 

June   5,  1897   John  Blocher Franklin  Grove,  111. 

June  5,  1897.  .S.  Aronson Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

June   5,  1897.  .Geo.  A  Cline Toronto,  Canada 

June  5,  1897.  .E.  H.  Davis Elmira,  N.  Y. 

June   7,  1897.  .D.  Dobbins Franklin,  Ind. 

June   7,  1897 . .  S.  E.  Davis Rochester,  N.  Y. 

June   7,  1897 . .  W.  W.  Ford Longview,  Tex. 

June   7,  1897 .   A.  J.  Gillespie Atlantic,  Iowa 

June   7,  1897 .  . F.  H.  Gilbert Ridgefield,  Wash. 

June  9,  1897.  .C.  Christensen 1115  10th  Ave.,  East  Oakland 


DATE.  NAME.  ADDRESS. 

June  9,  1897. .Win.  H.  Honiss Hartford,  Conn. 

June  5,  1897.  .L.  S.  Harmsen Minneapolis,  Minn. 

June  9,  1897.  .L.  Y.  McCounell Rochester,  N.  Y. 

June  9,  1897 .  J.  H.  Myers Rochester,  N.  Y, 

June  9,  1897 .  ..P.  S.  McGee Dodgeville,  Mass. 

June  9,  1897.  .J.  H.  McTammany Spencer,  Mass. 

June  5,  1897.  .C.  F.  Roper Hopedale,  Mass. 

June  9,  1897.. .  C.  A.  Stitzer Central  City,  Neb. 

June  9,  1897.  J.  H.  vScotford Portland,  Or. 

June   9,  1897.  .Geo.  W.  Trahan Howena,  La. 

June  10,  1897.  .F.  C.  Moseback 522  Montgomery  St.,  S.  F. 

June  10,  1897.. C.  E.  Stanton Santa  Ana,  Orange  Co.,  Cal. 

June  12,  1897 . .  G.  E.  Kennedy Livermore,  Cal. 

June  12,  1897 .  J.  B.  Clot San  Franciso,  Cal. 

June  12,  1897.  .S.  Ducas San  Francisco,  Cal. 

June  12,  1897.  .H.  A.  Clifford San  Francisco,  Cal. 

June  12,  1897.  J.  Mourot  Modesto,  Cal. 

June  12,  1897.  .T.  D.  Strong San  Francisco,  Cal. 

June  12,  1897.  J.  G.  Sweeney Petaluma,  Cal. 

June  14,  1897 . .  Dr.  A.  Grim Franklin  Grove,  111. 

June  16,  1897.  .Daniel  Davis 115    E.    Henry    St.,   Elraira, 

N.  Y. 

June  16,  1897.  .A.  S.  Hamilton.. Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Aug.  27,  1897 . .  A.  B.  Foster Oakland,  Cal. 

Sept.  8,  1897.  .C.  Iv.  Sturges Escondido,  Cal. 

Sept.  30,1897. .  Wm.  R.  Pike St.  Paul,  Minn. 

Oct.    2,  1897 . .  Henry  Weber N.  Temescal,  Cal. 

Oct.  20,  1897.  .Lorenzo  J.  Markoo White  Bear,  Minn. 

Oct.  20,  1897.  .Henry  H.  Niebur Ferndale,  Cal. 

Oct.  20,  1897 . .  Edwin  B.  Olmstead .... Delevan,  N.  Y. 

Oct.  20,  1897.  .Edwin  G.  Richards Sharon,  Mass. 

Oct.  20,  1897.  .Enoch  H.  Towne  Worcester,  Mass. 

Oct.  20,  1897.  .Rhines  Ballot  System  Co.  .  .St.  Paul,  Minn. 

Oct.  20,  1897.  .Clinton  L,.  Bancroft Browns,  Humboldt  Co,  Cal. 

Oct.  20,  1897.  .A.  C.  Beranck   Chicago,  111. 

Oct.  20,  1897.  Jas.  G.  H.  Buck Dallas,  Tex. 

Oct.  20,  1897.  .Edwin  B.  Cummings Indianapolis,  Ind. 

Oct.  20,  1897.  .  Wm.  M.  Cutter Marysville,  Cal. 

Oct.  20,  1 897... Montana  Vote  Registering. 

Machine  Co Missoula,  Mont. 

Oct.  20,  1897.  .Thos.  G.  Ferguson Colby,  Kas. 

Oct.  20,  1897.  Jas.  G.  Hardy,  Jr Canton,  N.  Y. 

Oct.  20,  1897.  .R.  A.  Hart Battle  Creek,  Mich. 

Dec.  11,  1897.. .Davis  Voting  Machine  Co..  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Dec.  11,  1897.  .Clarence  A.  Evans Upland,  Penn. 

Dec.  11,  1897.  .U.  S.  Voting  Machine  Co.  Jamestown,  N.  Y. 
Dec.  11,  1897.  .George  M.  Greer McCool  Junction,  Neb. 


—  5  — 

DATE.  NAME.  ADDRESS. 

Dec.  ii,  1897.  .Chas.  R.  Rofer Hopedale,  Mass. 

Jan.  13,  1898.  .Clement  de  Croes Westport,  Ind. 

Jan.   13,  1898... Jas.    J.    Cunningham    and 

Eugene  H.  Mullen Lynn,  Mass. 

Mar.  18,  1897.  .Turner  Voting  Machine  Co. Indianapolis,  Ind. 

June  24,  1898 .  John  K.  Hogan Placerville,  Cal. 

July  21,  1898.  .A.  J.  Bolfing San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Aug.  15, 1898.  .Albert  Snoock Hartford,  Conn. 

And  responses,  in  person  or  by  letter,  were  received  from: 

Hamilton  Kibbie Oblong,  111. 

F.  X.  St.  Louis Elk  Creek  P.  O.,  Glenn  Co., 

Cal. 
A.  C.  Abbott Hudson,  Mich. 

E.  H.  Davis Elmira,  N.  Y. 

A.  J.  Gillespie Atlantic,  Iowa. 

F.  H.  Gilbert Ridgefield,  Wash. 

C.  Christensen 11 15   10th  Ave.,  E.  Oakland, 

Cal. 

Wm.  H.  Honiss Hartford,  Conn. 

J.  H.  Myers  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

J.  H.  McTammany Spencer,  Mass. 

P.  C.  Moseback 522  Montgomery  St.,  S.  F. 

C.  E.  Stanton Santa  Ana,  Orange  Co.,  Cal. 

G.  E.  Kennedy Livermore,  Cal. 

H.  A.  Clifford San  Francisco,  Cal. 

J.  Mourot Modesto,  Cal. 

J.  G.  Sweeney Petaluma,  Cal. 

Dr.  A.  Grim Franklin  Grove,  111. 

Daniel  Davis 1 15    E.    Henry    St. ,    Elmira, 

N.  Y. 

A.  B.  Foster Oakland,  Cal. 

C.  L.  Sturges Escondido,  Cal . 

Wm.  R.  Pike   St.  Paul,  Minn. 

Henry  Weber N.  Temeseal,  Cal. 

Henry  H.  Niebur Ferndale,  Cal. 

Edwin  B.  Olmstead Delevan,  N.  Y. 

Clinton  L.  Bancroft Browns,  Humboldt  Co.,    Cal 

Edwin  B.  Cummings Indianapolis,  Ind. 

Thos.  G.  Ferguson Colby,  Kas. 

Davis  Voting  Machine  Co.  .New  York,  N.  Y. 

Clarence  A.  Evans Upland,  Penn. 

Clement  de  Croes Westport,  Ind. 

Cunningham  &  Mullen. . .  .Lynn,  Mass. 
Turner  Voting  Machine  Co. Indianapolis,  Ind. 

J.  C.  Garrett San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Jap  Jones Oakland,  Cal. 


—  6  — 

Jeff  Kindleberger San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Standard    Voting    Machine 

Co Rochester,  N.  Y. 

S.  A.  Crumrine Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

A.  J.  Bolfing San  Francisco,  Cal. 

The  question  whether  a  provision  for  independent  voting 
was  a  necessary  legal  requirement  arose  early  in  our  investi- 
gations. In  order  to  obtain  light  upon  this  subject  the 
secretary  was,  on  July  3,  1897,  directed  to  address  the 
Attorney- General  upon  the  subject,  and  reference  is  hereby 
made  to  Appendix  "  B "  for  the  correspondence  which 
ensued. 

Article  2,  Section  1197,  of  the  Political  Code  provides: — 
"  There  shall  be  left  at  the  end  of  the  list  of  candidates  for 
each  office  as  many  blank  spaces  as  there  are  persons  to  be 
elected  to  such  office,  in  which  the  voter  may  insert  the  name 
of  any  person  not  printed  upon  the  ballot  for  whom  he  desires 
to  vote  as  candidates  for  such  office,  and  the  name  and  blank 
spaces  on  the  whole  ticket  shall  be  consecutively  numbered." 
Whether  this  be  merely  a  legislative  provision  or  a  Constitu- 
tional requirement,  it  can  be  maintained,  and  modified  so  as 
to  be  adapted  to  Machine  Voting. 

The  additional  mechanism  required  to  permit  a  voter  to 
exercise  such  a  privilege  or  right,  of  necessity,  adds  to  the 
cost  of  a  machine  and  complicates  its  movements  and  prolongs 
the  time  required  in  canvassing  the  result  at  the  close  of  the 
poll.  Machines  without  such  attachments  will  show  the  re- 
sults of  the  poll  as  rapidly  as  they  can  be  read.  If,  however, 
an  election  should  be  contested  on  the  ground  that  any  voter 
had  been  denied  a  constitutional  right  in  consequence  of  no 
provision  having  been  made  for  independent  voting,  and  such 
contest  should  be  sustained  by  the  Supreme  Court,  the  invest- 
ment in  such  machines  would  be  lost.  This  would  involve 
the  loss  of  large  sums  of  money  and  is  a  risk  which  can  be 
avoided  by  the  adoption  of  a  machine  which  provides  for 
independent  voting.  Some  machines  which  are  provided  with 
an  attachment  for  independent  voting  preserve  secrecy  better 
than  the  present  ballot  system,  as  the  independent  vote  can- 
not be  associated  with  the  votes  cast  for  regular  nominees. 
Under  the  present  ballot  system  any   ballot  can   be  readily 


<  dentified  by  the  voter  and  his  patron  arranging  for  a  given 
name  to  be  written  upon  a  given  blank  space  (see  Sec.  1197 
Art.  II)  and  the  secrecy  of  the  ballot  be  destroyed. 

The  newly  adopted  charter  of  San  Francisco  provides  for 
the  election  of  eighteen  Supervisors,  to  be  elected  at  large,  at 
each  election.  Under  the  present  ballot  system  eighteen 
blank  spaces  would  be  provided  for  a  voter  to  write  in  such 
names  as  he  might  desire,  and  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  a 
voter  to  vote  repeatedly  for  the  same  person  would  be 
apparent  and  such  repeated  votes,  under  existing  law,  would 
not  be  counted.  If  no  check  is  provided  against  cumulative 
voting  in  the  attachment  for  independent  voting  on  a  machine, 
the  door  would  be  opened  to  favor  unnominated  candidates 
over  those  regularly  nominated.  Thus:  Eighteen  votes  for 
Supervisor  could  be  given  by  one  voter  to  the  man  of  his 
choice  while  those  regularly  nominated  could  receive  but  one 
vote  from  each  voter,  except  on  such  machines  as  designedly 
permit  of  cumulative  voting.  It  becomes,  therefore,  of  vital 
importance  that  any  device  for  independent  voting  must 
detect  and,  unless  permitted,  prevent  cumulative  voting. 

In  order  to  permit  a  voter  to  write  the  name  of  any  per- 
son not  printed  upon  the  ticket  for  whom  he  desires  to  vote, 
the  inventors  of  voting  machines  have  resorted  to  several 
systems.  Amongst  these  may  be  mentioned — First:  The 
dual  system  of  machine  and  ballot  box  voting,  which  affords 
the  voter  the  option  of  voting  by  either  method  and  which 
necessitates  the  adding  together  of  the  results  of  each  to  ob- 
tain the  total  vote  for  each  candidate;  Second  :  A  device  to 
permit  the  voter  to  deposit  some  kind  of  a  ballot  within  the 
machine  ;  Third  :  A  recording  scroll  attached  to  the  machine 
upon  which  a  voter  can  write,  but  confining  all  such  votes  to 
a  lineal  space  for  each  voter  so  as  to  detect  repeating. 

The  first  system  presents  no  improvement  upon  the 
present  ballot  system  and  would  only  tend  to  complicate  it. 
The  second  offers  little,  if  any,  advantage  over  the  first,  as 
the  count  of  the  ballots  would  have  to  be  added  to  the  results 
shown  upon  the  machines  in  order  to  obtain  the  total  vote  of 
each  candidate. 

If  only  one  ballot  was  employed  upon  which  the  names 
of  all  candidates  voted  for  would   have  to  be  written,  such 


—  8  — 

ballot  could  readily  be  identified  by  writing  an  agreed  name 
upon  it.  The  same  objection  would  apply  if  but  one  ballot 
for  co-ordinate  offices  should  be  used.  In  both  those  cases 
voters  who  might  desire  to  vote  for,  say,  seventeen  regularly 
nominated  candidates  for  Supervisor  and  one  not  nominated, 
would  be  obliged  to  write  the  names  of  the  eighteen  and  would 
thus  be  subjected  "to  casting  their  votes  upon  more  burden- 
some conditions  than  are  imposed  upon  others  no  better  en- 
titled under  the  fundamental  law  to  the  free  and  untrammeled 
exercise  of  the  right  of  suffrage."  (Eaton  vs.  Brown  96Cal.) 
On  the  other  hand,  if  ballots  upon  which  only  one  name  could 
be  written  were  used,  it  would  be  necessary,  in  order  to 
detect  cumulative  voting,  to  have  all  ballots  used  by  one 
voter  numbered  alike.  Such  ballots  would  necessarily  have 
to  be  small  and  for  the  purpose  of  canvassing  would  have  to 
be  segregated  and  placed  in  line.  Should  a  large  number  of 
such  ballots  be  cast  (for  instance  for  eighteen  Supervisors)  the 
system  would  prove  impractical  and  be  exposed  to  fraud  by 
substituting  prepared  ballots  for  those  cast  by  the  voters. 

The  third  system  will  show  at  the  close  of  the  polls  an 
immediate  and  complete  return  of  the  votes  cast  for  all 
regularly  nominated  candidates  whose  names  appear  printed 
upon  the  ballots  attached  to  the  machines,  and  from  the 
nature  of  the  case  the  independent  vote  must  be  counted 
separately  as  no  one  can  foresee  how  many  or  for  whom  such 
votes  will  be  cast. 

In  this  connection  it  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  any 
voting  system  is  like  a  chain — its  weakest  link  is  the  measure 
of  its  strength.  In  the  past,  independent  voting  (aside  from 
its  use  to  identify  a  ballot)  has  offered  no  opportunity  for 
abuse,  but  if  in  providing  for  independent  voting  in  connec- 
tion with  machine  voting  an  opportunity  is  opened  for  fraud, 
it  is  safe  to  predict  that  this  fraudulent  method  of  voting  will 
be  largely  developed. 

Inventors  in  designing  voting  machines,  as  a  rule,  have 
adopted  one  of  two  plans,  i.e.,  First:  The  arrangement  of 
parties  at  right  angles  to  the  offices  to  be  filled,  thus  : 


—  9  — 


Rep. 

Dem. 

Pop. 

Social 

Ind. 

Irregular. 

Mayor         

— 

Auditor 

Treasurer 



City  Attorney 

City  Rngineer 



or  the  reverse  arrangement — and 

Second  :  The  arrangement  of  candidates  in  groups  for 
the  same  office,  practically  as  they  are  now  printed  upon  the 
ballots  under  the  existing  law.  By  the  first  plan  an  increase 
in  the  number  of  parties  or  independent  candidates  in  excess 
of  the  columns  established  upon  the  machine  would  render 
such  machine  useless  for  the  purpose  of  conducting  an  elec- 
tion. In  view  of  the  tendency  to  increase  in  the  number  of 
parties  this  becomes  a  matter  of  much  importance,  as  an 
increase  in  the  number  of  parties  in  excess  of  the  capacity  of 
a  Machine  would  block  an  election. 

The  second  plan  permits  an  increase  in  the  number  of 
parties  and  candidates  by  coupling  machines  together  until 
all  candidates  have  been  accommodated. 

Under  the  first  plan  the  following  machines  have  been 
designed  : 
McTammany. 

Standard  Voting  Machine  Co. 
H.  H.  Niebur. 
U.  S,  Ballot  Box. 

And  under  the  second  plan  are  the  following  : 
California  Voting  Machine  Co. 
Christ  Christensen. 
Ellis  Ballot  Machine  Co. 
National  Voting  Machine. 

In  designing  Voting  Machines,  inventors  have  in  many 
cases  arranged  for  the  casting  of  an  entire  party  vote  by  the 
movement  of  one  key,  simultaneously  locking  all  others. 
Under  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  this  State  in 
Ea|ton  vs.  Brown,  California  Reports  96,  folio  371,  "Voters 
can  only  express  their  choice  by  placing  a  stamp  opposite  the 
name  of  their  candidate  for  each  office  or  by  writing  the 
name  of  a  candidate  in  a  blank  space  left  therefor    or    their 


IO 


answer  to  each  question  or  proposition  or  proposed  amend- 
ment to  the  Constitution,  except  only  in  case  of  presidential 
electors,  who  may  under  the  law  be  voted  for  in  groups  by  a 
single  impression  of  the  stamp." 

The  above  ruling  applied  to  a  voting  machine  would  ren- 
der mechanisms  for  casting  a  party  vote  by  the  operation  of 
one  key  superfluous,  and  such  mechanisms  if  retained  would 
only  tend  to  confuse  a  voter.  Machines  designed  for  candi- 
dates for  the  same  office  to  be  grouped  together  and  for  all 
candidates  to  be  voted  for  separately,  correspond  with  the 
existing  law  and  rulings  in  this  State — the  provision  in  the 
case  of  presidential  electors  excepted. 

Machines  in  which  a  paper  roll  is  provided  upon  which  a 
voter  can  write  the  names  of  those  for  whom  he  desires  to 
vote,  whose  names  do  not  appear  upon  the  printed  ballot, 
make  it  possible  to  write  a  key  name,  if  two  or  more  co-ordi- 
nate offices  are  to  be  voted  for  at  large.  This  applies  to  any 
form  of  ballot,  and  any  attempt  to  prevent  it  involves  a  con- 
tradiction or  opens  the  door  for  cumulative  voting.  The 
only  absolute  solution  is  either  to  forbid  independent  voting 
or  to  permit  every  voter  to  file  a  complete  list  of  candidates 
to  be  printed  on  the  bollot.  The  first  method  might  prove  to 
be  unconstitutional  and  the  latter  would  be  a  practical 
absurdity. 

The  use  of  a  paper  roll  for  the  independent  vote,  disas- 
sociated from  the  voting  keys  for  regular  candidates,  while 
not  theoretically  perfect,  appears  to  be  the  nearest  practical 
solution  of  the  subject. 

In  investigating  and  testing  voting  machines  we  have 
found  two  dangers  to  be  guarded  against  :  one,  manipula- 
tion on  the  part  of  a  voter  to  cause  the  machine  to  register 
more  than  such  voter  is  entitled  to  ;  and  the  other,  manipula- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  person  charged  with  preparing  the 
machine  for  an  election,  by  which  the  returns  may  be 
falsified. 

Machines  which  record  all  the  votes  cast  by  each  individ- 
ual by  one  movement,  after  or  as  the  voter  leaves  the  voting 
booth,  are  less  liable  to  be  tampered  with  by  the  voter  than 
those  which  attempt  to  lock  each  key  as  the  voter  proceeds 
to  cast  his  vote.     The  separate  locking  of  each  voting  device, 


—  II  — 


<§ 


as  used,  is  open  to  the  objection  that  it  prevents  a  voter  from 
correcting  a  mistake,  while  those  which  operate  all  the  regis- 
tering devices  by  one  motion,  only  record  the  used  keys  as 
left  by  the  voter  and  hence  afford  no  temptation  or  possibility 
for  repeating. 

The  danger  of  manipulation  of   the   machinery  on  the 
part  of  the  persons  charged  with  preparing  the  machines  for 
an  election  is  not  so  easily  guarded  against  in  the  design  and 
construction  of  the  machine,   but  to  meet  this   difficulty    we 
would  suggest,  in  case  the  legislature  adopts  a  machine  which 
provides  for  the  arrangement  of  candidates  in  groups  for  one 
office,  that  :     "As  soon  as  the  period  for  recording  nomina- 
tions by  parties  and  by  petition  is  closed,  all  machines  to  be 
used  in  the  ensuing  election  shall  be  examined  and  put  into 
order    by  expert  officers,   to  be  appointed  by  the  Board  of 
Election  Commissioners  ;  and  the  counting  mechanism  placed 
at  zero.     The  machines  shall  then  be  locked  and  sealed  so  as 
to  prevent  any  access  to  the  working  parts.     Ten  days  before 
the  holding  of  an  election  the  name  of  each  candidate  for  the 
same  office  or  co-ordinate  offices  shall  be  written  on  a  sepa- 
rate piece  of  paper,  which  shall   be  folded  so  that  the  name 
written  thereon  cannot  be  seen  or  read  without  unfolding  the 
same  ;  and  when  the  names  are  so   written  and  folded  they 
shall  be  placed  in  a  box  to  be  provided   for    the   purpose  and 
thoroughly  shaken.     The  Board  of   Election  Commissioners 
shall  then  open  said  box   in  the  presence  of   a  majority  of 
said  Board  and  in  the  presence  of  such  members  of  the  vari- 
ous political  parties  as  may  be  present  to  witness  the  same, 
and  shall  then  take  from  said  box  such  slips  of  paper  and  the 
names  thus  drawn   for    each  group   of    candidates   shall    be 
placed  upon  the   machines  in   the  order    in  which  they  are 
taken  from  the  box.      If   a  machine  with  party  columns  is 
adopted,  the  columns  could  be  drawn  for  in  like  manner.     By 
the  adoption  of  this  method  all  temptation  to  prepare  a  count- 
ing mechanism  so  as  to  favor  or  injure  the  record  of  a  candi- 
date would  be  removed  and  all  danger  of  the  manipulation  of 
the  machine  by  those  charged  with  preparing  same  for    an 
election    would    be    eliminated.       This   method    would    also 
remove  the  objection  to  the  present  alphabetical  arrangement 
of  names  on  the    ballot,    which    tends   to   favor    candidates 


12  

whose  names  commence  with  the  early  letters  of  the  alphabet. 

Special  provisions  to  fit  the  construction  of  any  voting 
machine  which  may  be  authorized  by  the  legislature  will 
have  to  be  substituted  for  the  detailed  instructions  governing 
election  boards  now  incorporated  in  the  election  laws  of  the 
State,  but  no  radical  change  in  the  methods  of  conducting 
elections  will  be  required  in  substituting  the  machine  for  the 
ballot.  It  will  be  advisable  to  retain  Section  1210  of  Art.  II. 
(Appendix  "C")  so  modified  as  to  furnish  instructions  to 
voters  how  to  use  machines  for  voting  and  furnish  them  with 
a  fac-simile  of  the  ballot  as  placed  on  the  machines. 

By  the  use  of  machines  it  will  be  possible  to  avoid  such 
crudities  as  are  involved  in  Sec.  1255,  Art.  II,  which  reads, 
in  part:  "The  ballots  must  be  immediately  replaced  in  the 
box  and  if  the  ballots  in  the  box  exceed  in  number  the  names 
on  the  lists,  one  of  the  judges  must  publicly  and  without 
looking  in  the  box,  draw  out  therefrom  singly  and  destroy, 
unopened,  a  number  of  ballots  equal  to  such  excess." 

Under  this  provision  no  voter  is  certain  that  his  vote  will 
be  counted — the  ballot  of  an  honest  elector  may  be  cancelled 
and  the  fraudulent  one  retained.  The  mere  casting  of  a  bal- 
lot does  not  insure  its  being  counted  or,  if  canvassed,  that  it 
will  be  read  off  correctly.  In  a  properly  designed  machine 
every  vote  cast  will  be  correctly  counted  and  no  more  votes 
can  be  cast  than  the  total  number  of  voters  taking  part  in  the 
election . 

We  have  examined  in  detail  the  following  inventions  : 

J.  G.  SWEENEY,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

His  system  consists  of  tally  sheets  enclosed  in  a  case  with 
glass  top  and  sides.  In  each  case  there  are  four  tally  sheets 
arranged  in  two  columns,  each  column  occupying  half  the 
length  of  the  case.  Two  of  the  tally  sheets  are  attached  to 
each  of  a  double  set  of  rollers,  which  operate  to  move  the 
tally  sheets  one  voting  space  for  each  voter.  The  names  of 
all  regularly  nominated  candidates  are  printed  in  columns  and 
are  fixed  on  one  side  and  in  the  middle  of  the  case,  so  that 
when  the  tally  sheets,  which  are  ruled  in  parallel  lines  the 
length  of  such  sheets,  are  moved,  the  spaces  between  such 
lines  come  opposite  the  names   of  the  candidates,     Slots  are 


—  13  — 

cut  in  the  glass  top  of  the  case  so  that  an  X  can  be  stamped 
upon  the  tally  sheet  opposite  the  candidates  for  whom  a  voter 
may  desire  to  vote,  and  all  the  X's  thus  stamped  appear  in 
line.  If  a  voter  desire  to  vote  for  a  person  whose  name  is  not 
printed  upon  the  ballot  he  can  write  the  name  upon  the  tally 
sheet  crosswise  through  the  slot.  As  each  voter  completes 
stamping  the  tally  sheet  and  leaves  the  booth,  an  election 
officer  moves  a  handle  outside  the  booth,  which  moves  the 
part  of  the  tally  sheet  used  by  the  voter  out  of  sight  and 
rings  a  bell  to  indicate  that  the  act  has  been  completed.  The 
unused  portion  of  the  tally  sheet,  for  a  space  of  about  six 
inches,  is  always  in  view  of  the  voters,  through  the  glass  top 
of  the  case,  so  that  if  any  X's  were  stamped  upon  the  tally 
sheet  in  advance  of  the  election,  such  action  would  be  open 
to  detection.  For  an  election  two  or  more  of  such  cases  are 
used  in  each  precinct  and  at  the  close  of  the  polls  all  of  the 
tally  sheets  are  taken  from  the  cases  and  are  placed  in  a  square 
basket,  where  they  are  so  shaken  that  the  identity  of  each  is 
lost  and  all  knowledge  of  the  continuity  of  the  voters  who 
have  used  them  is  destroyed.  Each  tally  list  is  then  placed 
back  into  the  cases  and  passed  under  the  open  slots  for  in- 
spection so  as  to  discover  whether  any  voter  has  exceeded  the 
number  of  votes  to  which  he  was  entitled.   If  such  be  found  the 

election  officers  stamp  such  excess  X's  with  a  circle,  thus:  (\h 

After  all  the  tally  sheets  have  been  inspected  they  are  taken 
from  the  cases  and  are  separately  placed  upon  a  table  and  the 

number  of  X's — (jQ  omitted — for  each  candidate  are  counted 
and  the  total  set  down  at  the  right  end  of  the  sheet.  After 
such  count  is  completed  the  tally  sheets,  which  are  lettered 
AA,  BB,  etc.,  to  correspond  with  a  like  lettering  upon  the 
section  of  the  ballot  appearing  upon  the  top  of  the  machine, 
are  placed  in  juxtaposition  to  their  respective  sections  of  the 
ballot,  and  not  until  then  is  the  count  for  each  candidate  dis- 
closed. 


This  system  would  save  the  printing,  numbering  and 
binding  of  ballots,  the  services  of  ballot-clerks  on  an  election 
board,  and  would  obviate  the  misreading  of  ballots,  either  by 
accident  or  design,  as  well  as  the  mistakes  which,  under  the 


—  14  — 

present  system,  are  possible  in  marking  the  tally  sheets.  In 
other  words,  the  voter  would  record  his  wishes  directly  upon 
the  tally  sheet  without  the  intervention  of  ballots  and  officials. 
The  size  of  the  machine  is  not  objectionable  and  the  system 
can  be  mechanically  carried  out  in  a  simple  and  satisfactory 
manner. 

The  system  does  not,  however,  overcome  one  objection 
to  the  present  ballot  system:  i.  e.,  the  identifying  the  act  of  a 
voter  by  writing  a  key  name  in  independent  voting.  As  all  the 
X's  of  one  voter  appear  in  line  when  the  tally  sheet  is  being 
inspected,  a  given  name  written  upon  the  tally  sheet  through 
the  slot,  will  disclose  the  voter  to  any  one  in  the  secret  who 
has  access  to  the  inspection.  The  use  of  a  lever  in  charge  of 
an  election  officer  to  move  the  tally  sheet  forward,  while  im- 
mediately protected  by  the  sound  of  a  bell,  would  in  practice 
become  liable  to  abuse,  as  the  sounding  of  bells  for  two  or 
more  machines  would  in  time  become  confusing  and  in  such 
a  case  a  voter  might  purposely  be  permitted  to  repeat  his 
vote.  No  one  officer  could  be  held  responsible  for  an  excess 
of  votes  as  no  one  officer  could  be  expected  to  operate  the 
lever  during  the  entire  length  of  an  election.  Furthermore, 
it  would  be  possible  to  manipulate  the  bell  in  the  machine  so 
that  it  would  strike  but  once,  even  if  a  privileged  voter  had 
used  a  number  of  voting  spaces. 

Any  device  which  permits  a  voter  to  repeat  his  vote  while 
in  the  voting  booth  is  liable  to  abuse  and  cannot  be  too  care- 
fully guarded  against.  Such  devices  should  be  automatic  and 
not  be  dependent  upon  the  honesty  or  watchfulness  of  an 
election  officer. 


J.  B.  TERRIU,,  Newark,  Cal. 

This  system  consists  of  a  number  of  boxes  enclosing 
tollers  upon  which  tally  sheets  are  placed  so  as  to  move  from 
one  roller  to  another  as  they  are  used.  Above  the  rollers  there 
is  a  perforated  sheet  to  correspond  with  the  voting  squares  of 
an  Australian  ballot,  and  above  this  is  placed  a  regular  Aus- 
tralian ballot  with  strips  cut  out  which  otherwise  would  be 
occupied  by  voting  squares.  The  perforations  in  the  lower 
sheet  are  in  juxtaposition  to  the  names  of  the  candidates  and 


—  15  — 

blank  spaces  on  the  ticket  and  there  are   a  set  of  rollers  for 
each  column. 

To  vote,  the  voter  opens  a  box  and  marks  upon  the  tally 
sheet  through  the  perforation  opposite  the  name  printed  upon 
the  ticket.  To  vote  independently,  a  name  has  to  be  written 
upon  a  special  ballot  and  deposited  in  a  ballot  box  provided 
for  the  purpose.  After  marking  the  tally  sheet  the  voter 
closes  the  box  and  thereby  moves  the  tally  sheet  a  voting 
space  out  of  sight  of  the  next  voter.  At  the  close  of  the  polls 
the  tally  sheets  are  taken  from  the  boxes  (a  number  of  which 
are  used  in  each  precinct)  and  the  count  is  made  directly  of 
the  marks  upon  them. 


To  eliminate  illegal  votes  each  tally  sheet  would  have  to 
be  inspected  and  the  excess  of  votes  cancelled.  Under  this 
system  there  would  be  no  check  upon  a  voter  marking  the  tally 
sheet  and  voting  on  the  special  ballot.  Any  possible  gains 
would  be  offset  by  greater  disadvantages  than  at  present 
exist. 


HENRY  H.  NIEBUR,  Ferndale,  Cal. 

His  system  provides  for  a  paper  ballot,  a  ballot  holder,  a 
counting  machine  and  a  ballot  box;  the  ballot  is  printed  in 
party  columns  at  right  angles  to  the  offices  to  be  filled,  with  a 
column  of  blank  spaces  in  which  a  voter  can  write  the  name 
of  any  person  not  printed  on  the  ballot.  To  the  right  of  the 
name  of  each  candidate  there  is  a  blank  square  in  which  a  cross 
could  be  stamped  in  case  the  other  fixtures  connected  with 
his  system  were  destroyed.  The  ballot-holder  (a  number  of 
which  can  be  in  use  at  once)  consists  of  a  hinged  frame,  the 
underside  of  which  is  perforated  to  correspond  with  the  voting 
squares  on  the  ballot  and  the  upper  side  is  provided  with  re- 
ceptacles to  contain  a  single  metalic  ball  immediately  above 
such  perforations.  One  end  of  the  ballot  is  affixed  to  a 
spindle  and  is  then  placed  within  the  ballot  holder  so  that  the 
voting  squares  will  come  between  the  receptacles  for  the  balls 
and  the  perforated  spaces  below.  For  every  office  to  be  filled 
there  is  a  column  of  receptacles  which  are  filled  with  balls. 
The  ballot  thus  placed  in  the  ballot  holder  is  given  to  a  voter 
who   takes  it  to  a  voting  booth  and   transfers  the  balls,  by 


—  i6  — 

means  of  a  magnet,  to  such  receptecles  as  he  may  desire  (in 
place  of  stamping  the  ballot  as  at  present)  and  he  can  change 
the  balls  from  place  to  place  untill  he  finally  leaves  them  as  he 
desires,  thus  obviating  calling  for  a  new  ballot  to  correct  a 
mistake.  The  ballot  holder  which  is  then  covered  to  conceal 
the  acts  of  the  voter,  is  handed  by  the  voter  to  an  officer  who 
places  it  in  the  Counting  Machine. 

This  machine  is  arranged  in  compartments  to  hold  the 
balls  cast  for  each  candidate.  A  frame  with  teeth  to  enter 
each  voting  receptacle  in  the  ballot  holder  is  mechanically 
pressed  down  so  as  to  force  the  balls  in  the  receptacles  through 
the  ballot  into  the  compartments  below,  thus  recording  the 
vote  cast  and  making  a  hole  in  the  ballot  in  place  of  stamping 
it.  The  ballot  is  then  wound  up  on  the  spindle,  removed  and 
placed  in  the  ballot  box.  At  the  close  of  the  election  the  con- 
tents of  each  compartment  in  the  counting  machine  are  sepa- 
rately drawn  off  by  the  removal  of  a  slide  bottom  and  the  con- 
tents run  into  a  scaled  tube  which  at  once  shows  how  many 
votes  were  cast  for  each  candidate.  The  total  number  of  balls 
cast  for  each  office  plus  any  unused  balls  should  equal  the 
number  of  voters  taking  part  in  the  election.  If  by  accident 
or  design  more  balls  should  appear,  recourse  would  have  to  be 
made  to  the  ballots  in  the  ballot  box  in  order  to  detect  the 
source  of  excess.  The  inventor  claims  for  his  system  the  ad- 
vantage— "  That  his  machine  during  an  election  is  always  in 
charge  and  control  of  the  Board  of  Election  Officers — the  voter 
not  having  any  access  or  control  over  it,  but  voting  as  now  by 
an  Australian  ballot." 


A  machine  constructed  upon  the  above  principles  to 
accommodate  a  fixed  number  of  political  parties  could  not  be 
used  in  an  election,  if  an  additional  number  of  candidates  in 
excess  of  such  provision  should  be  nominated,  and  the  whole 
system  would  break  down.  Evil  disposed  persons  could  bring 
any  number  of  balls  into  the  voting  booth  and  thus  destroy 
the  utility  of  the  counting  devices.  To  canvass  the  indepen- 
dent vote,  all  the  ballots  would  have  to  be  opened  and  ex- 
amined. Either  by  accident  or  design  the  operation  of  the 
ball  counting  devices  could  be  overcome  and  resort  to  canvas- 
sing the  ballots  be  necessitated.     Instead  of  X's,  as  under  the 


—  17  — 

present  system,  the  holes  made  in  the  paper  by  the  balls  forced 
through  the  ballot,  would  have  to  be  inspected  and  counted. 
The  complications  proposed  in  this  system  offer  no  advantages 
over  the  present  system. 


C.  L.  STURGES,  Escondido,  Cal. 

His  system  consists  of  an  Australian  ballot,  a  Counting 
Machine  and  a  Ballot  Box. 

To  vote,  a  voter  uses  a  pointed  instrument  with  which  to 
puncture  the  ballot,  instead  of  stamping  an  X.  The  voter 
then  inserts  the  ballot  in  the  Counting  Machine,  which  per- 
mits metal  balls  to  pass  through  the  holes  made  in  the  ballot 
and  collects  them  in  scaled  grooves  provided  for  the  purpose. 
At  the  close  of  an  election  the  accumulated  balls  in  each  groove 
disclose  the  vote  cast  for  each  candidate. 

The  Counting  Machine  counts  for  all  holes  made  in  the 
ballot,  so  that  if  a  voter  should  make  two  or  more  holes  for, 
say,  a  Mayor,  all  would  be  counted.  As  a  consequence,  all 
the  ballots  would  have  to  be  taken  from  the  ballot  box  in 
which  they  have  been  deposited  after  passing  through  the 
Counting  Machine  and  be  canvassed  for  the  independent  vote 
and  for  the  purpose  of  eliminating  illegal  votes. 

The  system  differs  from  the  present,  in  substituting  holes 
for  X's  and  the  trouble  of  passing  the  ballots  through  a  Count- 
ing Machine  without  accomplishing  a  correct  count. 


AMERICAN  BALLOT  COMPANY. 

McTamany  Patent, 
Mass, 
This  system  comprises  a  Voting  Machine  proper,  a 
Counting  Machine  and  a  Ballot-box,  and  affords  a  voter  the 
option  of  voting  entirely  by  machine  or  by  ballot.  The 
Machine,  which  is  arranged  for  party  columns,  does  not  limit 
the  number  of  candidates  for  whom  a  voter  can  vote,  as  he 
can  vote  upon  it  for  every  candidate  nominated,  but  makes  it 
impossible  to  vote  for  the  same  candidate  more  than  once. 
The  Counting  Machine  is  depended  upon  to  cancel  the   votes 


—  i8  — 

cast  in  excess.  For  example  :  If  a  voter  should  vote  for  two 
or  more  candidates  for  Mayor  none  of  the  votes  would  count. 
In  case  a  voter  desires  to  vote  indept  ndently  for  any  one  he 
has  to  vote  by  ballot  for  all  candidates  for  whom  he  desires  to 
vote.  The  results  of  the  two  systems  are  added  together  and 
the  total  vote  for  each  candidate  obtained. 

The  Voting  Machine  is  operated  by  push  buttons  which 
cut  holes  in  a  paper  strung  between  rollers,  which  moves  a 
given  distance  for  each  voter.  In  case  of  possession  of  the 
poll  list  and  the  punched  paper,  the  act  of  each  voter  can  be 
determined.  The  Voting  Machine  is  mechanically  well  con- 
structed and  simple  in  operation.  The  Counting  Machine  is 
very  complicated  and  delicate,  and  would  require  a  watch- 
maker's skill  to  repair. 


Under  the  above  system,  unless  the  present  ballot  system 
was  also  maintained,  the  door  would  be  opened  to  place 
prepared  ballots  in  the  hands  of  voters  which  could  afterwards 
be  identified,  and  the  voters  would  also  be  obliged  to  cast 
their  votes  under  more  burdensome  conditions  than  those 
using  the  machines.  As  a  consequence,  the  cost  of  the 
machines  and  their  operation  would  have  to  be  added  to  the 
present  expenses  incident  to  an  election. 


CALIFORNIA  VOTING  MACHINE  COMPANY. 
Christ  Christensen,   Patent  No.  534,494. 

This  machine  is  operated  by  turning  the  exposed  end  of 
a  screwrod  upon  which  a  nut  with  an  index  point  moves  one 
thread  for  each  complete  revolution,  and  indicates  upon  an 
accompanying  scale  the  number  of  votes  given  to  each  candi- 
date. A  rod  with  gravity  sliding  blocks  limits  the  time  a 
voter  can  vote  for  a  single  or  co-ordinate  office,  and  as  the 
voter  leaves  the  booth  these  blocks  fall  together  and  leave  no 
clue  as  to  how  the  voter  exercised  his  choice.  The  act  of 
leaving  the  booth  also  completes  the  revolution  of  all  the 
screwrods  which  a  voter  has  partially  turned.  The  voter  is 
thus  afforded  an  opportunity  of  changing  or  correcting  his 
votes  until  he  has  left  the  booth. 


—  19  — 

For  each  office  or  group  of  offices  an  attachment  for 
independent  voting  by  ballot  is  provided,  which,  if  used, 
prevents  the  voter  from  operating  any  rods  for  the  regularly 
nominated  candidates  for  that  office.  Where  co-ordinate 
offices  are  to  be  filled,  this  arrangement  necessitates  the 
writing  the  names  of  regularly  nominated  candidates  for 
whom  the  voter  may  desire  to  vote  as  well  as  those  not  nomi- 
nated— all  on  one  ballot  in  order  to  avoid  cumulative  voting. 
Such  a  ballot  could  readily  be  identified  by  an  agreed  name 
written  upon  it  and  would  facilitate  fraud  in  the  purchase  of 
votes.  As  each  voter  would  be  entitled  to  a  ballot,  however 
provided  or  regulated,  it  can  be  readily  seen  that  such  a 
ballot  could  be  taken  unused  from  the  voting  booth  and 
prepared  on  the  outside  and  given  to  a  subsequent  voter,  and 
thus  an  endless  chain  of  corrupt  votes  could  be  controlled. 

To  the  record  of  the  vote  shown  by  the  nuts,  the  count 
of  the  ballot  would  have  to  be  added  before  the  total  vote  for 
each  candidate  could  be  known. 

By  coupling  machines  together  any  number  of  offices  and 
candidates  can  be  provided  for,  but  in  case  of  an  excessive 
number  of  candidates  for  a  co-ordinate  office,  such  as  the 
election  of  18  Supervisors  in  San  Francisco  (which  might 
result  in  over  ioo  candidates  being  nominated)  a  special 
machine  to  be  used  horizontally  and  provided  with  slide  blocks 
operated  otherwise  than  by  gravity  would  have  to  be  con- 
structed, as  a  perpendicular  machine  controlled  by  gravity 
slide  blocks  would  be  too  high  for  practical  use? 

The  machine  exhibited  is  mechanically  well  constructed, 
simple  in  design,  and  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  get  out  of 
order. 


UNITED  STATES  BALLOT  BOX. 
Franklin  Grove,  Illinois. 
This  system  consists  of  a  box  enclosing  a  nest  of  vertical 
tubes,  so  arranged  as  to  receive  metal  discs  dropped  into  them. 
Above  the  tubes  is  a  metal  plate  in  which  slots  are  cut, 
through  which  such  discs  can  pass.  A  second  plate  composed 
of  metal  strips  with  corresponding  slots  in  them,  rests  upon 
the  bottom  plate,  so  that  the  slots  in  both  will  admit  of  a  disc 


20 

falling  through  them  into  the  tubes  when  all  are  brought 
together.  The  slots  are  so  arranged  that  candidates  can  be 
grouped  with  party  columns  at  right  angles  to  the  offices  to 
be  filled,  and  the  box  can  be  constructed  to  accommodate  any 
reasonable  number  of  candidates  for  an  office.  The  names  of 
candidates  need  not  necessarily  appear  in  party  columns. 

In  voting,  a  voter  opens  the  cover  to  the  box  and  places 
a  disc  in  a  slot  opposite  the  printed  name  of  the  candidate  for 
whom  he  desires  to  vote,  and  in  so  doing  forces  the  metal 
strip  sideways  into  such  a  position  that  a  second  disc  cannot 
be  placed  in  any  other  slot  in  the  same  strip.  The  disc,  how- 
ever, can  be  withdrawn  and  placed  in  any  slot  in  the  strip  as 
long  as  the  box  remains  open. 


To  vote  independently,  there  is  a  lid  in  each  metal  strip 
which  can  be  raised  provided  the  voter  has  not  deposited  a 
disc  in  the  same  strip,  exposing  a  paper  roll  upon  which  he 
can  write  the  name  of  a  person  for  whom  he  desires  to  vote. 
The  raising  of  the  lid  moves  the  metal  strip  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  placing  a  disc,  but  a  lid  once  raised  the  metal  strip 
cannot  be  again  moved  so  that  a  voter  can  place  a  disc  in  a 
slot.  All  the  names  written  by  one  voter  appear  in  line  and 
cumulative  voting  can  thus  be  detected  if  practiced. 

The  voter  having  arranged  the  discs  for  the  candidates 
for  whom  he  desires  to  vote,  the  lid  to  the  box  is  closed  and 
a  crank  is  actuated  which  carries  both  the  metal  strips  and 
bottom  plate  into  line  over  the  mouth  of  the  tubes  so  as  to 
drop  the  discs  into  them.  A  continuation  of  the  movement 
restores  the  sliding  strips  to  their  normal  position,  moves  the 
independent  roll  one  voting  space,  if  it  has  been  used,  and 
closes  the  raised  lids  so  as  to  obliterate  all  traces  of  the  acts 
of  the  voter. 

At  the  commencement  of  an  election  a  flat  metal  rod  is 
inserted  into  each  tube  so  as  to  demonstrate  that  all  are 
equally  empty,  and  at  the  close  of  the  election  the  same 
process  is  repeated  and  the  votes  cast  for  each  candidate  are 
disclosed  by  the  depth  to  which  the  scaled  rod  will  descend. 


In  case  of  co-ordinate  officers  to  be  elected  at  large,    it 


21 


would  be  impossible  to  vote  for  more  than  one  candidate 
appearing  upon  the  same  strip.  To  overcome  this  defect  it  is 
proposed  to  allow  the  voter  to  write  upon  the  independent  roll 
the  name  of  a  candidate  whose  name  appears  printed  upon  the 
strip,  for  whom  he  cannot  insert  a  disc.  This  method,  how- 
ever, would  also  make  it  possible  for  a  voter  to  vote  for  the 
same  candidate  twice;  i.  e.,  once  by  disc  and  once  on  the  roll. 

Unless  these  difficulties  can  be  overcome  this  device 
would  be  practically  useless. 

The  mechanism  used  in  this  device  is  very  simple  and 
positive  and  only  a  tension  spring  to  control  the  paper  roll  is 
used.  The  cost  of  construction  would  consequently  be 
moderate. 

The  use  of  discs  preserves  in  a  concrete  form  the  record 
of  each  vote  cast.  In  case  of  dispute  the  box  can  be  brought 
into  Court  for  examination  and  the  discs  cast  for  each  candi- 
date be  either  measured,  counted  or  weighed.  In  this  respect 
the  system  differs  from  those  employing  registering  wheels, 
where  the  count  is  abstracted  in  the  position  of  the  wheels 
and  the  individual  acts  of  the  voters  are  obliterated  so  as  not 
to  be  subject  to  review. 


F.  X.  ST.  LOUIS,  Elk  Creek,  California, 

His  machine  is  arranged  so  as  to  receive  a  lineal  ballot. 
Opposite  the  name  of  each  candidate  there  is  a  sliding  key, 
in  one  end  of  which  is  a  receptacle  for  a  disc.  To  vote,  a 
disc  with  a  hole  in  its  center  is  inserted  in  the  above  men- 
tioned receptacle  and  the  key  moved  forward  so  as  to  draw 
the  disc  under  a  plate  and  over  a  vertical  rod  upon  which  it 
drops.  A  sliding  device  prevents  two  or  more  keys  being 
moved  forward  at  the  same  time.  Teethed  wheels  in  which 
stops  are  placed,  limit  the  number  of  times  a  voter  can  vote 
for  either  single  or  co-ordinate  offices.  A  lever  controlled  by 
a  turn -stile  or  the  officers  of  an  election  board,  releases  the 
used  keys  after  each  voter  has  occupied  the  voting  booth.  The 
machine  can  be  adjusted  to  meet  the  conditions  of  succeeding 
elections  and  can  be  made  to  accommodate  any  number  of 
candidates.     To  vote   independently,  one  key  is  reserved  in 


22  

each  gronp  of  single  and  co-ordinate  offices.  For  this  purpose 
discs  upon  which  a  name  can  be  written  are  furnished  the 
voters.  So  far  as  single  offices  are  concerned  this  method 
could  be  adopted,  but  for  co-ordinate  offices  various  complica- 
tions arise.  Except  by  experts  in  hand- writing,  no  one  could 
tell  whether  eighteen  voters  had  each  voted  once  for  one 
supervisor  or  one  voter  had  voted  eighteen  times  for  the  same 
person.  A  machine  which  might  accommodate  all  the  inde- 
pendent votes  for  mayor,  might  prove  incapable  of  holding  all 
the  independent  votes  for  eighteen  supervisors  to  be  elected  at 
large,  as  all  would  have  to  be  dropped  on  one  rod.  If  eigh- 
teen rods  were  provided  for  voting  for  independent  candidates 
for  supervisors,  cumulative  voting  might  be  practiced  without 
detection. 

At  the  close  of  an  election  the  rods  are  exposed  with  the 
discs  which  have  been  dropped  upon  them  and  a  scale  dis- 
closes the  number  of  votes  which  each  candidate  has  received. 
The  independent  vote  has  to  be  canvassed  separately. 


So  far  as  the  principles  involved  in  this  system  for  voting 
for  regularly  nominated  candidates  are  concerned,  they  could 
be  carried  out  with  mechanical  accuracy.  A  voter  can  see 
that  his  disc  drops  upon  the  rod  in  line  with  the  candidate  for 
whom  he  is  voting,  and  before  moving  the  sliding  key,  he  can 
change  or  correct  his  vote. 


HENRY  WEBER.    Patent  No.  531,818. 
Temescal,  California. 

This  Voting  Machine  is  designed  to  receive  a  lineal 
ballot.  Opposite  the  names  and  blank  spaces  are  receptacles 
in  which  discs  can  be  placed  for  those  candidates  who  are 
selected  by  a  voter.  Such  discs  can  be  re-arranged  until  the 
voter  has  prepared  his  vote  to  his  satisfaction.  Slide-blocks 
limit  the  number  of  times  a  voter  can  vote  for  single  or  co- 
ordinate offices  and  these  can  be  adjusted  to  meet  the  require- 
ment of  succeeding  elections. 

To  vote  independently,  the  voter  is  permitted-  to  write  a 
name  upon  a  disc.  For  the  purpose  of  casting  his  vote,  the 
voter  removes  a  block  which  operates  to  cover  the  receptacles 


—  23  — 

for  discs  and  permits  those  in  position  to  fall  into  scaled 
tubes. 

Until  the  machine  is  adjusted  to  receive  another  voter,  no 
more  votes  can  be  cast.  At  the  close  of  an  election  the  num- 
ber of  discs  in  each  tube  discloses  the  number  of  votes  cast 
for  each  candidate. 

Counting  by  this  device  could  be  accomplished  with  cer- 
tainty. The  arrangement  for  independent  voting  is  defective 
as  cumulative  voting  could  be  practiced  and  escape  detection. 
The  position  of  the  slideblocks,  as  left  by  each  voter,  would 
indicate  how  such  votes  had  been  cast. 


S.  A.  CUMRINE,  Los  Angeles,  California. 

This  system  consists  of  a  line  of  voting  keys  set  opposite 
the  names  of  candidates.  To  vote,  a  voter  turns  a  key  a 
quarter  turn,  which  actuates  a  toothed  disc  one  tooth  and 
cannot  be  further  moved  until  a  releasing  bar  in  charge  of 
the  Election  Board  prepares  the  way  for  a  subsequent  voter. 
In  case  of  single  offices  the  movement  of  one  key  locks  all  the 
others  for  the  same  office,  but  for  co-ordinate  offices  where, 
say,  two  out  of  four  candidates  are  to  be  elected,  each  voter 
could  vote  all  the  four  keys  unless  prevented  by  the  Election 
Board,  who  would  have  to  keep  tally  by  ear  as  each  key  was 
operated.  The  system  contemplates  separate  machines  for 
each  office  or  group  of  offices  to  be  filled.  For  independent 
voting,  keys  in  excess  of  those  to  be  used  for  regularly  nom- 
inated candidates  are  provided  with  a  blank  space  opposite 
in  which  a  voter  can  write  the  name  of  a  person  for  whom  he 
desires  to  vote.  In  practice,  three  candidates  for  mayor  might 
be  regularly  nominated  and  keys  provided  for  them,  but  to 
accommodate  a  possible  independent  vote,  ten,  twenty,  fifty 
or  more  keys  and  blank  spaces  would  have  to  be  provided,  as 
no  one  could  determine  in  advance  how  many  independent 
votes  might  be  cast. 

At  the  commencement  of  an  election  all  the  discs  should 
be  found  at  zero,  and  at  its  close  the  number  of  votes  cast  for 
each  candidate  could  be  read  off  without  difficulty. 


—  24  — 

STANDARD  VOTING  MACHINE  COMPANY. 

Gillespie  Patent. 
New  York. 

This  machine  is  arranged  with  eight  perpendicular  party 
columns  and  a  column  for  independent  voting,  at  right  angles 
to  the  offices  to  be  filled.  In  addition  there  are  placed  at  the 
foot  of  the  machines  eight  spaces  for  the  submission  of  ques- 
tions, constitutional  amendments,  etc.,  for  which  a  key  can 
be  placed  in  position  to  vote  yes  or  no.  A  system  of  inter- 
locking wedges  limits  the  times  a  voter  can  vote  for  a  single 
or  co-ordinate  office,  and  the  machine  can  be  adjusted  to 
meet  the  conditions  of  succeeding  elections  to  the  extent  of  a 
full  list  of  nominations  by  eight  parties.  The  mechanical 
principles  involved  in  the  interlocking  system  do  not  advan- 
tageously permit  of  an  increase  in  the  party  columns,  but  the 
number  of  offices  to  be  filled  can  be  increased  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  machine  to  meet  the  requirements  of  any  election. 
A  perpendicular  paper  roll  to  the  right  of  the  party  column 
affords  an  opportunity  to  write  a  name  not  printed  in  the 
party  column,  by  moving  a  slide  over  the  paper,  but  a  slide 
once  opened  prevents  a  voter  moving  any  of  the  voting  keys 
in  the  same  line.  As  the  perpendicular  roll  moves  forward 
but  once  for  each  voter  using  it,  any  attempt  at  cumulative 
voting  can  be  detected. 

The  machine  permits  of  the  grouping  of  eighteen  super- 
visors to  be  elected  at  large  and  can,  therefore,  accommodate 
the  names  of  144  candidates  and  eighteen  spaces  in  which  the 
names  of  those  not  nominated  can  be  written.  The  inter- 
locking system  and  a  special  device  will  prevent  a  voter  plac- 
ing more  than  eighteen  keys  in  position  for  voting.  The 
voter  can  select  his  candidates  at  will,  unless  he  chooses  to 
vote  for  a  line  of  candidates  running  across  the  bottom  of  the 
group  so  as  to  vote  for  several  from  each  political  party.  In 
this  case  the  angles  of  the  interlocking  wedges  do  not  permit 
all  the  keys  being  placed  in  position  for  voting,  and  also  pre- 
vent a  free  choice  of  candidates  above  the  bottom  line.  if 
certain  keys  were  used  it  would  be  impossible  to  vote  for  a 
certain  79  out  of  the  144  candidates.  To  the  left  of  the 
names  of  the  various  candidates  is  a  column  of  voting  keys, 
which  in  the  act  of  arranging  his  ticket,  a  voter  moves  at  an 


—  25  — 

angle  over  the  name  of  the  candidate  of  his  choice.  All  the 
keys  in  one  column  can  be  moved  into  position  by  the  use  of 
a  lever  at  the  top,  but  after  using  such  lever,  if  a  voter 
desires  to  split  his  ticket  he  can  move  back  any  or  all  of  the 
keys  singly  and  move  a  key  in  any  other  column  over  the 
name  he  wishes  to  vote  for  or  vote  on  the  independent 
roll. 

Upon  entering  the  voting  stand  the  voter  moves  a  lever 
from  left  to  right,  which  carries  a  curtain  in  a  semi-circle  in 
front  of  the  machine  and  encloses  him  in  the  booth.  He  can 
then  arrange  and  re-arrange  in  secret  the  voting  keys  for  the 
candidates  of  his  choice,  which  being  accomplished,  he 
returns  the  curtain  lever  to  its  original  position  and  in  so 
doing  registers  his  vote,  and  the  movement  of  the  lever 
restores  the  voting  keys  to  their  normal  position  and  closes 
the  slides  over  the  independent  voting  roll.  When  not  in 
possession  of  a  voter,  the  face  of  the  machine  is  exposed  to 
view  of  all  present  and  any  tampering  with  it  can  be  readily 
preceived  and  the  blame  be  promptly  placed.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  an  election  the  registers  in  the  back  of  the 
machine  are  exposed  for  inspection  and  all  should  be  found 
at  zero.  The  rear  doors  are  then  locked  and  cannot  be 
opened  while  the  voting  keys  can  be  moved.  At  the  close  of 
the  election  the  voting  keys  are  locked,  the  rear  doors  opened 
and  the  registers  show  the  number  of  votes  cast  for  each 
candidate.  The  independent  roll  has  to  be  canvassed  sepa- 
rately. 


The  use  of  voting  levers  (which  can  either  be  retained  or 
discarded)  at  the  top  of  each  party  column  expedites  voting 
without  limiting  the  number  of  offices  for  which  a  voter  can 
vote,  nor  confining  his  choice  to  party  candidates,  and  would 
enable  a  greater  number  of  voters  to  use  a  machine  in  an 
election  than  if  each  voting  key  had  to  be  separately  placed 
in  position.  The  question  naturally  arises  whether  the  use  of 
such  levers  would  conflict  with  the  decision  of  the  Supreme 
Court  in  Eaton  vs.  Brown. 

The  printing  of  the  names  of  regularly  nominated  candi- 
dates upon  the  ballot,  as  now  provided  by  law,  saves  time  and 
effort  and  enables  the  class  of  voters  who  place  an  X  opposite 


—  26  — 

such  printed  names  an  advantage  over  those  who  are  obliged 
to  write  the  names  of  those  for  whom  they  desire  to  vote  and 
the  principle  of  "more  burdensome  conditions"  is  not  carried 
to  reductio  ad  absurdum.  A  corresponding  practical  con- 
struction of  the  law  would  doubtless  permit  of  the  use  of  a 
lever  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating  the  arrangement  of  the 
keys  for  voting. 

This  machine  is  thoroughly  adapted  for  an  election  in 
which  the  number  of  candidates  for  a  single  office  does  not 
exceed  eight  and  for  co-ordinate  offices  forty  (five  only  to  be 
elected),  but  any  increase  in  the  number  of  candidates  for  a 
single  office  or  for  a  group  in  excess  of  five  to  be  elected  for 
co-ordinate  offices,  is  beyond  the  mechanical  limits  of  the 
interlocking  mechanism  of  the  machine.  These  difficulties 
can  only  be  overcome  by  the  adoption  of  a  new  interlocking 
device  or  by  a  law  raising  the  percentage  required  for  a  posi- 
tion upon  the  ballot  and  limiting  the  number  of  officers  to  be 
elected  at  large  to  five. 

The  machine  is  finely  constructed  and  is  easily  adjusted 
to  meet  the  requirements  of  succeeding  elections ;  all  the 
movements  are  positive  and  only  a  tension  spring  for  the  paper 
roll  is  used.  In  operation  any  voter  is  capable  of  compre- 
hending it  and  can  adjust  the  voting  keys  with  ease  and 
rapidity.  Up  to  its  capacity  elections  would  be  conducted 
with  it  at  an  economy  in  cost  and  certainty  in  correct  results. 


NATIONAL    VOTING    MACHINE. 

Markee  Patent. 

This  machine  is  arranged  in  sections  which  are  set  one 
upon  the  top  of  another.  Each  section  is  complete  in  itself 
and  can  be  coupled  with  others  for  the  purpose  of  releasing 
knobs  which  have  been  used  in  voting.  The  face  of  each 
section  exposes  a  line  of  voting  knobs  so  arranged  that  each 
can  be  used  for  voting  for  a  single  office  or  combined  for  vot- 
ing for  a  single  and  for  co-ordinate  offices,  so  that  any  number 
of  candidates  can  be  accommodated.  The  knobs,  to  each  of 
which  a  ridged  pointer  is  attached,  are  placed  in  the  center  of 
a  slotted  receptacle,   and  from  each   slot  a  space  radiates  in 


—  27  — 

which  the  name  of  a  candidate  can  be  placed,  with  or  without 
a  party  designation.  In  the  machine  exhibited  eight  such 
radiating  spaces  appear,  but  their  number  could  be  increased." 
For  independent  voting  there  is  an  opening  in  the  top  space 
over  each  knob  and  all  these  openings  are  in  line.  Separate 
rolls  of  paper  pass  before  such  openings,  but  all  are  attached 
to  a  common  shaft  and  move  forward  once  whenever  a  voter 
elects  to  write  the  name  of  one  or  more  persons  whose  names 
are  not  regularly  printed,  so  that  cumulative  voting  cannot  be 
accomplished  without  detection. 

In  order  to  vote  the  voter  turns  a  knob  so  as  to  bring  the 
pointer  opposite  the  slot  and  space  on  which  the  name  of  the 
candidate  appears  for  whom  he  desires  to  vote  and  then  pushes 
the  knob  inward.  A  knob  thus  pushed  cannot  be  withdrawn, 
but  at  once  actuates  the  register  counters  and  completes  the 
act  of  voting.  A  mistake  in  placing  the  voting  pointer  into 
a  slot  cannot,  consequently,  be  recalled  and  corrected.  The 
vote  for  each  office  is  a  repetition  of  the  above  described 
method.  When  the  knob  is  pushed  inward  against  the  inde- 
pendent space  a  slide  opens  and  exposes  the  paper  roll,  which 
at  all  other  times  is  covered.  After  a  voter  lsaves  the  voting 
booth  a  lever,  which  can  be  operated  by  turnstile  or  the  elec- 
tion officers,  throws  all  the  used  knobs  outward,  dropping  the 
pointer  into  its  normal  position  and  closing  all  the  slides 
which  have  been  opened  for  independent  voting.  At  the 
beginning  of  an  election  all  the  registers,  which  are  exposed 
upon  the  back  of  the  machine,  should  be  found  at  zero,  and 
upon  opening  the  machine  at  the  close  of  the  election,  such 
registers  will  show  the  vote  cast  for  each  candidate. 


For  the  purpose  of  releasing  and  returning  the  voting 
knobs  to  their  normal  position  a  shaft  extends  the  length  of 
each  section,  which  could  be  reached  by  an  opening  made 
and  concealed  in  the  outside  casing.  By  means  of  a  wire 
reaching  the  shaft  through  such  opening,  a  reciprocal  action 
could  be  set  up  which  would  permit  of  a  voter  voting  for  one 
candidate  an  unlimited  number  of  times.  While  such  a  fraud 
might  be  known  by  the  general  result,  it  could  not  be  located 
even  though  the  opening  in  the  casing  was  found,  as  the  shaft 
operates  all  knobs  alike.     This  defect  could  probably  be  over- 


—  28  — 

come  by  some  device  which  would  retain  the  releasing  bar  in 
a  fixed  position  while  a  voter  was  in  the  voting  booth,  but  as 
the  machine  is  now  designed  it  could  be  pumped  in  the  man- 
ner indicated. 

In  the  case  of  presidential  electors  this  machine  affords 
the  voter  the  option  of  voting  for  a  straight  party  group  by 
one  movement,  or  of  voting  for  such  candidates  separately, 
and  the  interlocking  device  will  not  permit  of  both  methods 
being  used  by  the  same  voter.  This  method  involves  the 
adding  together  of  the  straight  party  vote  and  the  votes  cast 
for  candidates  separately  in  order  to  obtain  the  total  cast  for 
each.  It  enables,  however,  a  greater  number  of  voters  to  use 
the  machine  in  a  given  precinct  and  in  consequence  is  eco- 
nomical in  the  number  of  machines  required  for  an  election 
and  the  number  of  election  officers  to  be  employed. 


J.  C.  GARREET. 
San  Francisco,  Cal. 
Presented  an  incompleted  model  of  a  Voting   Machine, 
but  as  the  device  was  only  partially  disclosed  it  is  impossible 
to  give  a  satisfactory  description  of  it. 


H.  A.  CLIFFORD. 
San  Francisco,  Cal. 
This  device  consists  of  a  bank  of  numbered  voting  keys 
placed  above  an  Australian  ballot.  To  vote,  a  voter  pushes 
inward  a  key  corresponding  to  the  number  placed  opposite  the 
name  of  a  candidate  on  the  ballot,  thereby  locking  the 
mechanism  so  that  another  vote  for  the  same  office  cannot  be 
cast.  For  co-ordinate  offices  the  machine  can  be  adjusted  for 
any  number  of  candidates.  To  vote  independently,  the  voter 
pushes  a  key  for  a  blank  space  and  thereby  raises  a  lid  upon 
which  he  can  write  the  name  of  a  candidate  whose  name  does 
not  appear  upon  the  ballot.  A  double  system  of  recording 
the  vote  is  provided  by  the  use  of  a  paper  roll  and  registering 
wheels.  The  push  keys  are  connected  with  double  arms,  one 
of  which  punches  the  paper  roll,  which  serves  as  a  tally  sheet, 


—  29  — 

and  the  other  actuates  registering  wheels.     All   movements 
are  positive. 

The  interlocking  device  consists  of  a  series  of  wedges 
passing  between  hanging  rods  which  permit  of  a  free  passage 
until  the  limit  of  candidates  to  be  voted  for  single  or  co-ordi- 
nate offices  has  been  reached.  The  interlocking  device  of  the 
machine  exhibited  permits  of  twelve  candidates  to  be  elected 
at  large  to  be  chosen  out  of  fifty.  A  special  device  will 
permit  of  only  a  portion  of  the  offices  to  be  filled  to  be  voted 
for  in  case  such  an  arrangement  is  desired.  This  machine 
provides  for  cumulative  voting  as  allowed  in  some  states. 


ELLIS  BALLOT  MACHINE  COMPANY. 
Livermore,  Cal. 

In  this  machine  a  ballot  arranged  the  same  as  the  present 
one  would  be  if  the  names  of  all  the  candidates  were  printed 
in  one  column,  is  placed  opposite  a  row  of  voting  keys 
which  extend  the  length  of  the  machine.  The  ballot  is  folded 
so  as  to  expose  to  the  voter  the  names  of  the  candidates  and 
blank  spaces  for  independent  voting.  The  reverse  side  of 
the  folded  ballot,  which  is  reserved  in  columns  of  hundreds, 
tens  and  units,  for  the  result  of  the  election  to  be  printed 
thereon,  is  placed  over  registering  wheels  which  are  in  line 
with  the  push  keys.  The  names  of  the  candidates  and  the 
blank  spaces  on  the  ballot  are  thus  placed  immediately  above 
the  registering  wheels,  which  are  actuated  by  the  voting  key 
opposite  such  names  and  blank  spaces. 

By  a  system  of  gravity  balls  placed  in  double  rows  the 
number  of  times  a  voter  can  push  down  the  keys  to  vote  for 
single  and  co-ordinate  offices  is  limited  to  his  legal  right  and 
can  readily  be  adjusted  to  meet  the  conditions  of  succeeding 
elections.  While  in  the  voting  booth,  a  voter,  by  pulling  up 
a  depressed  key,  can  correct  or  change  his  vote  as  often  as  he 
chooses,  and  is  not  confined  to  any  fixed  order  of  voting,  but 
can  choose  or  change  his  candidates  at  will. 

For  independent  voting  a  paper  roll  extends  the  length  of 
the  machine  and  passes  over  a  supporting  table.  By  pushing 
down  a  key  opposite  the  blank  for  independent  voting,  a  lid  is 


raised  over  the  paper  roll,  upon  which  a  voter  can  write  the 
name  of  the  person  for  whom  he  desires  to  vote.  A  lid  once 
raised  its  key  cannot  be  returned  to  its  normal  condition  until 
the  voter  leaves  the  voting  booth,  nor  will  pushing  down 
other  independent  keys  by  the  same  voter  advance  the  voting 
roll.  If  a  voter  writes  the  same  name  more  than  once  such 
names  will  appear  in  line  and  detect  his  act  the  same  as  if  the 
present  ballot  was  used.  A  voter  can  thus  vote  for  such 
regularly  nominated  candidates  as  he  may  choose,  and  vote 
for  anyone  he  may  desire  not  nominated  until  his  limit  of 
voting  is  exhausted. 

Upon  the  voter  leaving  the  voting  booth,  the  independent 
roll,  if  it  has  been  used,  is  moved  forward  one  voting  space, 
the  independent  lids  close  and  the  depressed  keys  are  released 
and  resume  their  normal  position,  thus  removing  all  trace  of 
the  acts  of  the  voter.  At  the  same  time  the  registering 
wheels,  which  at  all  other  times  are  securely  locked,  are 
moved  forward  for  such  keys  as  have  been  left  pushed  down 
by  the  voter  and  his  vote  thereby  registered. 

At  the  opening  of  the  polls  a  regularly  prepared  ballot, 
such  as  is  to  be  used  in  the  election,  is  inserted  in  the 
machine,  the  lid  closed  and  locked  and  an  impress  of  the 
registering  wheel  printed  upon  the  ballot.  This  impress 
should  show  that  all  the  registering  wheels  are  placed  at  zero. 
The  ballot  for  the  election  is  then  inserted  and  is  protected 
during  the  election  by  a  transparent  covering.  At  the  close 
of  the  election  the  lid  of  the  machine  is  again  closed,  an 
imprint  taken  upon  the  actual  ballot  used,  showing  the 
changed  position  of  the  registering  wheels  which  have 
recorded  the  acts  of  the  voters  and  consequently  the  result  of 
the  election  so  far  as  the  votes  for  regularly  nominated  candi- 
dates are  concerned. 

By  opening  the  lids  over  the  independent  or  scattering 
vote  and  turning  the  roll  backward,  such  votes  can  be  can- 
vassed without  removing  the  roll  from  the  machine,  and  the 
total  of  such  scattering  votes  cannot  exceed  the  number 
indicated  by  the  imprints  on  the  ballot  opposite  each  voting 
space.  A  turn-stile,  provided  with  a  conspicuous  moving 
arm  and  a  gong  bell,  unlocks  and  locks  the  Voting  Machine 
as   each   voter   enters   and  leaves  the  voting  booth,  so  that 


—  3i  — 

without  the  knowledge  of  all  present  it  would  be  impossible 
for  a  voter  to  vote  more  than  once  or  for  a  vote  to  fail  _pf 
being  registered. 

Sections  of  this  machine,  which  can  be  made  of  50,  75 
or  100  keys,  can  be  coupled  together  so  as  to  accommodate  as 
many  parties  and  candidates  as  may  be  desired. 


This  device  meets  many  of  the  requirements  of  a  practical 
Voting  Machine,  and  complies  with  all  the  provisions  of  the 
Election  Laws  of  this  State,  save  the  option  of  voting  for  a 
group  of  Presidential  electors  instead  of  voting  for  such  can- 
didates separately. 


CHRIST  CHRISTENSEN,   Oakland,  Cal. 

This  machine  is  enclosed  in  a  narrow  upright  box.  In 
order  to  vote,  a  voter  passes  to  one  side  of  the  box,  which  is 
placed  in  full  view  of  all  present,  and  raises  a  cover  which  is 
hinged  together,  so  that  when  the  cover  is  raised  it  acts  as  a 
screen.  The  machine  is  then  operated  by  the  voter  raising  a 
screw-rod  and  inserting  a  resting-arm  attached  thereto  within 
a  notch  of  a  slide-bar  which  extends  the  length  of  the  machine. 
Upon  the  screw-rod  (which  is  numbered  upon  the  rod  for  each 
half-turn)  there  is  a  movable  nut  (protected  by  a  guide  rod) 
which  moves  upon  the  screw-rod  as  the  latter  is  turned.  The 
names  of  the  various  candidates  to  be  voted  for  appear  in 
groups  the  same  as  if  the  existing  ballot  was  printed  in  one 
column  and  these  groups  can  be  so  changed  as  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  succeeding  elections.  This  lineal  ballot  is 
placed  upon  the  top  of  the  machine  so  that  the  name  of  each 
candidate  and  the  spaces  for  independent  voting  appear  oppo- 
site the  handle  to  a  screw-rod.  A  system  of  rollers  and 
wedges  at  the  bottom  of  the  screw-rods  limits  the  number  of 
screw-rods  which  can  be  raised  by  each  voter  and  the  times  a 
voter  can  vote  for  a  single  or  co-ordinate  office.  The  same 
device  permits  the  voter  to  correct  or  change  his  vote  as  often 
and  as  long  as  he  remains  in  the  voting  booth,  and  he  is  not 
confined  to  any  fixed  order  of  voting  but  chooses  his  candi- 
dates at  will. 


—  32  — 

For  independent  voting  a  paper  roll  feeding  from  one  to 
a  second  roller  extends  the  length  of  the  machine  and  passes 
over  a  fixed  table.  This  table  is  covered  by  arms  which  can 
be  attached  to  each  screw-rod,  but  for  an  election  only  those 
arms  are  attached  to  the  screw -rod  which  are  reserved  for  in- 
dependent voting.  To  vote  independently,  the  voter  raises 
the  screw-rod  and  inserts  the  resting-arm  within  the  notch  of 
the  slide-bar,  thereby  lifting  the  arm  over  the  fixed  table  and 
exposing  a  space  upon  the  paper  roll  upon  which  he  can  write 
the  name  of  anyone  not  printed  upon  the  ballot  for  whom  he 
desires  to  vote.  In  this  operation  the  paper  roll  is  moved  but 
once,  no  matter  how  many  times  the  voter  may  write  the 
names  of  independent  candidates,  and  as  a  consequence  all 
the  independent  votes  of  any  one  voter  must  appear  in 
line  upon  the  paper  roll.  This  cannot  prevent  cumulative 
voting,  but  detects  it  in  the  same  manner  as  the  present  ballot 
does,  and  while  it  discloses  the  act  of  a  voter  it  does  not  iden- 
tify him.  The  voter  can  thus  exercise  the  limit  to  which  he 
is  entitled  by  raising  the  screw-rods  and  voting  for  candidates 
regularly  nominated  and  those  of  his  own  choice  and  is  only 
called  upon  to  write  the  names  of  the  latter.  After  once  rais- 
ing the  screw-rod  for  an  independent  vote  the  rod  cannot  be 
replaced  by  the  voter  in  its  original  position,  as  otherwise  he 
could  write  upon  the  roll  and  afterwards  vote  for  regularly 
nominated  candidates  the  full  number  of  times  permitted.' 
After  the  voter  has  arranged  the  screw-rods  in  the  notches  in 
the  sliding-bar,  he  closes  the  cover  to  the  box  and  thereby 
moves  a  cam  operating  the  sliding-bar,  which  moves  all  the 
resting  arms  forward  until  they  are  released  and  fall  back  by 
gravitation  into  their  normal  position,  thus  completing  the 
half  revolution  of  the  screw-rods  for  independent  as  well  as 
regular  candidates,  and  forcing  the  nut  to  register  the  vote 
given  and  removing  all  traces  of  the  acts  of  the  voter.  The 
cover  to  the  box  cannot  be  closed  until  all  these  operations 
have  taken  place.  Any  attempt  on  the  part  of  a  voter  to 
open  the  cover  a  second  time  to  repeat  his  vote  would  be  ap- 
parent to  all  present  and  such  attempt  should  open  the  doors 
of  the  penitentiary  to  him. 

At  the  commencement  of  an  election  the  machine  can  be 
opened  so  that  spectators  can  see  that  all  the  nuts  are  placed 


—  33  — 

at  zero  in  the  machine  and  at  its  close  the  result  can  be  read 
from  the  rods  as  shown  by  the  position  of  the  nuts.  The  in- 
dependent vote  can  be  canvassed  without  removing  the  paper 
roll  from  the  machine  as  it  can  be  turned  back  space  by  space 
and  the  names  read  off  through  an  opening  provided  for  the 
purpose.  During  an  election  the  only  parts  of  the  machine 
which  could  be  tampered  with  (which  are  the  resting-arms 
and  slide-bar)  are  exposed  to  view  by  means  of  a  glass  cover 
ing,  and  any  possible  injury  to  them  could  be  seen  by  every 
voter.  The  movement  of  the  nut  upon  the  screw-rod  is  abso- 
lutely positive  and  the  nut  cannot  be  moved  a  half  turn  unless 
it  has  been  operated  by  the  act  of  a  voter — the  numbers 
appearing  upon  the  screw-rod  itself,  in  the  same  manner  as 
upon  the  balance  arm  of  a  weighing  scale,  does  not  permit 
any  tampering  with  or  manipulation,  and  as  the  movement  of 
the  operating  cam  only  permits  of  a  forward  motion  when  the 
resting  arms  are  in  the  notch  of  the  slide-bar,  a  vote  once 
registered  cannot  beset  back  and  cancelled.  In  these  respects 
the  design  is  unimpeachable. 

Machines  in  sections  of  50,  75  or  100  keys  can  be  coupled 
together  so  as  to  accommodate  any  number  of  parties  and  candi- 
dates. One  hundred  or  more  candidates  can  be  grouped  to- 
gether for  single  or  co-ordinate  offices  and  the  mechanism  does 
not  limit  the  number  of  co-ordinate  offices  to  be  filled.  Thus, 
the  voter  could  select  one  candidate  out  of  a  hundred  for 
Mayor  and  eighteen  out  of  any  hundred  candidates  for  Super- 
visor to  be  elected  at  large. 

By  the  use  of  a  special  device  a  straight  party  group  of 
presidential  electors  can  be  voted  for  on  one  rod,  so  as  to 
afford  a  voter  the  option  of  voting  for  such  group  by  one  rod 
or  of  voting  for  the  same  or  other  candidates  separately,  and 
the  interlocking  device  will  prevent  the  use  of  both  methods 
by  the  same  voter. 

If  this  method  of  voting  for  a  straight  party  group  to  fill 
co-ordinate  positions  could  be  lawfully  extended  so  as  to  per- 
mit a  voter  to  vote,  say,  for  eighteen  supervisors  to  be  elected 
at  large,  the  interlocking  device  of  this  machine  could  be  ad- 
justed to  meet  the  requirement.  This  would  facilitate  rapi- 
dity in  voting  and  a  far  greater  number  of  voters  could  use 
a  machine  than  if  each  candidate  had  to  be  selected  and  voted 
for  separately. 


—  34  — 

This  group  method  would  involve  the  adding  together  of 
the  straight  party  vote  to  those  cast  separately. 

A  screw-rod  is  mechanically  equivalent  to  a  pile  of  con- 
nected discs  and  the  passage  of  a  nut  upon  it  accomplishes  the 
same  purpose  as  placing  one  disc  upon  another.  Hence,  the 
recording  mechanism  in  this  machine  combines  both  the  con- 
crete and  abstract  features  which  distinguished  the  disc  and 
registering  wheel  machines. 

This  machine  meets  all  the  requirements  of  a  practical 
voting  machine,  and  complies  with  all  the  provisions  of  the 
Election  Laws  of  this  state. 


It  has  been  our  purpose  in  examining  machines  to  study 
the  principles  rather  than  the  execution  of  the  devices,  as 
most  of  the  machines  presented  have  been  imperfectly  con- 
structed. In  a  machine  manufactured  for  practical  use,  many 
existing  miner  faults  could  and  would  be  corrected.  The 
'  *  McTammany  ' '  and  "Standard"  machines  illustrate  how 
well  machines  can  be  manufactured.  Of  the  hand-made  ma- 
chines, the  \4  National,"  the  "  Ellis  "and  the  "  Christensen'' 
are  the  only  ones  which  have  been  made  upon  a  scale  to 
admit  of  practical  tests.  In  general  principles  they  are  some- 
what alike,  though  the  mechanical  devices  are  entirely  differ- 
ent, and  each  possess  advantages  which  have  already  been 
mentioned.  The  "  Ellis"  is  the  most  compact  and  the 
1 '  Christensen  ' '  the  strongest  and  least  complicated. 

It  was  the  intention  of  the  commission  to  give  public 
exhibitions  of  the  practical  workings  of  Voting  Machines 
submitted  to  us  for  examination  and  testing,  but  we  have  to 
regret  that  delays  upon  the  part  of  inventors  in  completing 
their  machines  has  rendered  it  impossible  for  us  to  make  such 
tests  in  public. 

Whatever  machines  may  be  adopted,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  enact  laws  guarding  them  against  being  marked,  defaced 
or  injured  and  to  prevent  the  use  of  devices  to  disclose  the 
acts  of  a  voter  who  might  be  placed  in  the  voting  line 
between  two  conspirators.  To  guard  against  such  practices 
the  booths  should  be  arranged  so  as  to  expose  the  voting  keys 
to  public  view  before  each  voter  proceeds  to  vote. 


—  35  — 

As  previously  stated,  the  "  McTammany  "  and  "  Stand- 
ard M  are  the  only  factory-made  machines,  all  the  others  hav^ 
ing  been  made  by  hand  and  exhibit  variation  in  workmanship 
from  crude  models  in  wood  to  finished  products  in  metal.  As 
a  consequence  it  is  difficult  to  make  an  estimate  of  the  proba- 
ble cost  of  one  or  more  of  such  machines.  The  price  for 
factory-made  machines  would  doubtless  range  from  two 
hundred  and  fifty  to  five  hundred  dollars. 

An  important  factor  in  the  economy  of  voting  by  ma- 
chines is  the  number  of  voters  who  can  use  a  machine  during 
an  election,  Machines  which  require  each  key  to  be  sepa- 
rately moved  cannot  accommodate  as  many  voters  as  those 
which  place  a  party  group  into  position  for  voting  by  one 
movement.  At  the  last  election  held  in  Rochester,  N.  Y . ,  on 
November  8th,  1898,  seventy-three  "Standard"  Voting  Ma- 
chines were  used,  sixty-two  candidates  were  in  nomination, 
thirtern  positions  were  voted  for  and  an  average  of  four  hun- 
dred and  thirty-one  voters  used  a  machine  in  each  precinct. 
Complete  returns  were  received  at  a  central  station  thirty- 
seven  minutes  after  the  close  of  the  polls.  Under  the  newly 
adopted  charter  of  San  Francisco,  thirty -two  positions  will 
have  to  be  voted  for  at  each  election,  and  as  under  the  exist- 
ing  law  each  candidate  must  be  voted  for  separately,  the  num- 
ber of  voters  who  can  use  a  machine  in  a  precinct  will  be  less 
than  the  average  in  the  late  election  in  Rochester. 

By  the  use  of  machines  the  cost  of  conducting  an  elec- 
tion would  be  reduced  by  the  expense  for  ballots  and  the 
lessened  number  of  election  officers  employed.  Doubtless  it 
would  prove  advisable  to  retain  an  inspector,  a  judge,  two 
register  clerks  and  two  poll  list  clerks.  As  their  services 
would  be  required  for  only  a  short  time  after  the  close  of  the 
polls,  a  reduction  in  the  amount  now  paid  them  could  be 
made — thus  :  in  San  Francisco  where  twelve  election  officers 
are  employed  in  each  precinct  at  a  cost  of  ten  dollars  each, 
the  savings  in  expenses  for  officers,  ballots,  tally-sheets,  etc., 
would  soon  cover  the  cost  of  machines. 

The  moral  gain  in  the  avoidance  of  mistakes  and  the  cer- 
tainty of  the  count  would  prove  of  inestimable  value,  and 
would  far  outweigh  all  minor  considerations. 

W,  M.  HINTON, 
C.  B.  MORGAN, 
J.  V.  WEBSTER. 


APPENDICES 


—  39 


APPENDIX  "A." 

An  act  to  create  a  commission  for  the  purpose  of  examin- 
ing, testing  and  investigating  Voting  Machines,  and  reporting 
to  the  Legislature  at  its  thirty-third  session  the  result  of  such 
investigation,  and  making  an  appropriation  for  the  expenses 
of  such  commission. 

(Approved  March  27.  1897.) 

The  People  of  the  State  of  California,  represented  in 
Senate  and  Assembly,  do  enact  as  follows  : 

Section  i.  A  special  commission  of  three  persons  is 
hereby  created  for  the  purpose  of  examining,  investigating 
and  testing  Voting  Machines,  and  reporting  the  result  of  such 
examination,  investigation  and  test,  together  with  the  opinion 
of  such  commission,  and  its  recommendations,  to  the  Legisla- 
ture at  its  thirty- third  session.  Such  commission  shall  con- 
sist of  three  persons,  who  shall  not  be  members  of  the  same 
political  party,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Governor.  The  Gov- 
ernor shall  issue  a  commission  to  each  of  the  three  commis- 
sioners. 

Sec.  2.  Such  commissioners  shall  receive  no  salary  for 
the  performance  of  their  official  duties.  Immediately  after 
such  commissioners  shall  have  been  appointed,  or  elected,  and 
commissioned,  they  shall  meet  together,  and  organize,  for  the 
performance  of  the  duties  for  which  they  were  appointed  or 
elected.  They  shall  examine  and  investigate  all  Voting  Ma- 
chines offered  for  such  examination,  or  investigation,  and 
shall  use  all  reasonable  efforts  to  secure  a  personal  examina- 
tion of  the  largest  possible  number  of  such  Voting  Machines. 
They  shall  endeavor  to  ascertain  the  names  and  residences  of 
the  patentees,  owners,  or  proprietors,  of  all  such  Voting  Ma- 
chines, and  by  correspondence,  or  by  advertisement,  notify 
them  of  the  appointment  of  such  a  commission,  its  powers 
and  duties,  and  that  they  will  examine  such  machine  or  ma- 
chines, at  such  time,  and  at  such  place,  as  they  shall  therein 
specify . 


—  40  — 

Sec.  3.  They  shall  be  allowed  to  employ  a  clerk  at  a  cost 
not  to  exceed  six  hundred  dollars,  and  may  incur  such  other  ex- 
penses as  shall  be  necessary,  which,  together  with  the  expense 
for  such  clerk,  shall  not  aggregate  more  than  one  thousand 
dollars. 

Sec.  4.  Thirty  days  before  the  meeting  of  the  Legisla- 
ture at  its  thirty-third  session,  such  commission  shall  forward 
to  each  member  of  such  Legislature  entitled  to  sit  at  such 
session,  a  copy  of  its  report.  Such  report  shall  contain  the 
results  of  their  investigation  and  examination;  their  opinion 
upon  each  machine  tested;  its  applicability  to  our  present 
elective  system,  and  its  possible  defects.  Such  commission 
shall  also  in  such  report  make  such  estimate  as  may  be 
possible  and  they  deem  proper  of  the  probable  cost  of  one  or 
more  of  such  machines,  and  the  saving,  if  any,  which  such 
purchase  would  effect  over  our  present  system  of  voting. 

Sec.  5.  The  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars  is  hereby 
appropriated  out  of  any  moneys  in  the  state  treasury  not 
otherwise  appropriated,  for  the  purposes  of  this  act,  to  be  ex- 
pended by  such  commission,  as  herein  provided.  All  claims 
against  this  appropriation  must  be  presented  to,  and  allowed 
by  the  State  Board  of  Examiners. 

Sec.  6.     This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 


APPENDIX  "B". 

Oakland,  Cal.,  July  3,  1897. 
Hon.  Wm.  F.  Fitzgerald, 

Attorney-General  of  California, 

San  Francisco. 
Dear  Sir  : 

As  a  member  and  as  acting  secretary  of  the  commission 
created  by  act  of  the  last  Legislature  of  California  for  the  pur- 
pose of  examining,  testing  and  investigating  Voting  Machines, 
and  under  authority  of  a  resolution  passed  at  the  last  regular 
meeting  of  the  commission,  I  write  to  you  in  your  official 
capacity  to  learn  your  interpretation  of  the  entire  act,  and 
more  especially  of  the  following  portion,  viz  :  '  'its  applicability 
to  our  present  elective  system  and  its  possible  defects. ' '    Some 


—  4i  — 

of  the  machines  offered  for  our  inspection  are  apparently  very- 
perfect  and  highly  successful  in  operation,  and  meet  all  the  re- 
quirements of  the  election  laws,  excepting  only  that  part  of 
Sec.  1196,  Pol.  Code  of  California,  reading  as  fallows:  viz: 
"Nothing  in  this  Code  contained  shall  prevent  any  voter  from 
writing  upon  his  ballot  the  name  of  any  person  for  whom  he 
desires  to  vote  for  any  office,  and  such  vote  shall  be  counted 
the  same  as  if  printed  upon  the  ballot,  and  marked  as  voted 
for."  Is  this  a  mere  legislative  enactment,  or  is  it  also  a 
necessity  under  the  constitution  ? 

Is  our  commission  bound  by  the  existing  law,    or  can  we 
recommend  changes  that  seem  to  us  wise  and  advisable  ? 

Trusting  that  you  will  render  us  your  valuable  opinion  as 
to  these  matters,  I  am, 

Yours  truly, 

(Signed)  C.  B.  Morgan,  Sec'y. 

California  Voting  Machine  Commission. 


APPENDIX  UB". 


REPLY    TO    FOREGOING, 


Attorney-General's  Office  ) 
State  of  California.        j 

W.  F.  Fitzgerald,  Attorney-General. 

San  Francisco,  July  7,  1897. 

California  Voting  Machine  Commission, 

Room  507  Central  Bank  Building,  Oakland,  Cal. 
Gentlemen  : 

I  am  in  receipt  of  your  favor  of  the  3rd  inst.  in  which  you 
request  my  "interpretation"  of  "An  Actto  create  a  commission 
for  the  purpose  of  examining,  testing  and  investigating  Voting 
Machines, "  etc,,  ' 'and  more  especially  to  the  following  por- 
tions, viz:  "its  applicability  to  our  present  elective  system  and 
its  possible  defects. ' ' 

The  act  in  question  (Stats.  1897,  222-223)  creates  a  com- 
mission   "for  the  purpose  of  examining,    investigating    and 


—  42  — 

testing  Voting  Machines,  and  reporting  the  result  of  such  ex- 
amination, investigation  and  test,  together  with  the  opinion  of 
such  commission  and  its  recommendations  to  the  Legislature 
at  its  thirty- third  session." 

(SBC.  i,  Stats.  1897,  222).  By  section  2  of  the  Act  it  is 
provided  that  the  commission  "shall  examine  and  investigate 
#// Voting  Machines  offered  for  such  examination,  or  investi- 
gation, and  shall  use  all  reasonable  efforts  to  secure  a  per- 
sonal examination  of  the  largest  possible  number  of  such 
Voting  Machines."  Section  4  of  the  Act  relates  to  the  report 
of  the  commission,  and  contains  the  following  provisions,  in 
which  occurs  the  phrase  upon  which  you  particularly  request 
my  opinion  : 

1 '  Such  report  shall  contain  the  results  of  their  investiga- 
tion and  examination ;  their  opinion  upon  each  machine 
tested  ;  its  applicability  to  our  present  elective  system,  and  its 
possible  defects.  Such  commission  shall  also  in  such  report 
make  such  estimates  as  may  be  possible  and  they  may  deem 
proper  of  the  probable  cost  of  one  or  more  of  such  machines  t 
and  the  saving,  if  any,  which  such  purchase  would  effect  over 
our  present  system  of  voting. ' ' 

In  reply  to  your  question  :  "Is  our  commission  bound 
by  the  existing  law,  or  can  we  recommend  changes  that  seem 
to  us  wise  and  advisable  ?  "  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  it  was 
the  purpose  of  the  Legislature  in  framing  the  Act  creating 
your  commission  to  obtain,  through  you,  all  the  information 
possible  concerning  Voting  Machines,  their  feasibility,  cost 
and  cost  of  operation,  etc.  ;  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  your 
commission  to  examine  all  machines  presented  to  you  for  ex- 
amination or  that  you  can  obtain  the  privilege  of  examining 
and  to  report  fully  to  the  Legislature  upon  each  machine  so 
examined,  its  merits  and  its  defects,  and  its  applicability  or 
non-applicability  to  our  existing  laws  governing  elections  ; 
and  I  am  further  of  the  opinion  that  you  are  not  in  any  way 
restricted  by  the  Act  in  the  matter  of  recommendations  ;  but 
that  you  were  expressly  created  for  ' '  the  purpose  of  examin- 
ing, investigating  and  testing  Voting  Machines,  and  reporting 
the  result  of  such  examination,  investigation  and  test,  to- 
gether with  your  'opinion'  and  your  'recommendations,' 
to  the  Legislature  at  the  thirty- third  session."      The  Legisla- 


—  43  — 

ture  desires  the  fullest  information  for  its  guidance  in  consid  - 
ering  its  feasibility  of  adopting  Voting  Machines,  and  one  im- 
portant element  of  such  information  is  the  change  which  J_t 
will  be  necessary  to  make  in  our  present  elective  system  should 
such  machines  be  adopted. 

Respectfully, 

(Signed)  W.  F.  Fitzgerald, 

Attorney- General. 


REPLY   TO   THE    ABOVE. 

Oakland,  Cal.,  July  10,  1897. 
Hon.  W.  F.  Fitzgerald, 

Attorney-General  of  California, 

San  Francisco. 
Dear  Sir: — Your  reply  of  July  7th  to  our  letter  of  the 
3d  inst.  is  received,  and  its  contents  are  carefully  noted. 
The  question  which  we  wish  to  have  solved  is  "whether  a 
voter  has  a  constitutional  right  to  vote  independently,  i.  e., 
for  a  person  who  has  received  no  nomination  by  any  political 
party;  or  whether  such  right  exists  by  virtue  of  a  mere 
Legislative  enactment  ?  ' ' 

To  construct  a  Voting  Machine  which  would  register  an 
independent  vote,  would  add  much  to  its  complication  and 
expense,  and  lessen  many  advantages. 

Yours  respectfully, 
(Signed)  C.  B.  Morgan,  Secretary. 

California  Voting  Machine  Commission. 


REPLY   TO   ABOVE. 

San  Francisco,  July  30,  1897. 
California  Voting  Machine  Commission, 

Central  Bank  Building,  Oakland,  Cal. 
Gentlemen: — I  am  in  receipt  of  your  favor  of  the  10th 
inst.  in  which  you  ask,  "  whether  a  voter  has  a  constitutional 
right  to  vote  independently,  i.  e.,  for  a  person  who  has  received 


—  44  — 

no  nomination  by  any  political  party;    or  whether  such  right 
exists  by  virtue  of  a  mere  Legislative  enactment  ?  ' ' 

This  is  an  extremely  delicate  constitutional  question  and 
one  which  is  not  necessary  for  me  at  this  time  to  pass  upon, 
as  an  opinion  thereon  by  me  would  serve  no  practical  purpose. 
All  that  is  required  of  you,  under  the  Act,  creating  your 
Commission,  is  to  examine  Voting  Machines  and  to  report  to 
the  Legislature  their  feasibility,  and  their  adaptability  or 
inadaptability  to  the  existing  laws  concerning  the  elective 
franchise,  their  cost,  etc.,  accompanying  your  report  with 
such  recommendations  as  you  may  see  fit  to  make.  If  you 
have  any  doubts  as  to  the  constitutionality  of  any  changes  in 
the  law  which  you  may  recommend  to  meet  the  exigencies  of 
either  or  any  of  the  machines  reported  upon  you  can  so  state; 
and  it  will  be  for  the  Legislature  to  determine  whether  or  not* 
in  view  of  the  constitutional  questions  involved,  it  will  adopt 
such  recommendations. 

Respectfully, 

(Signed)  W.  F.  Fitzgerald, 

Attorney-General. 


APPENDIX    "C." 
Article  II.    Section   1210. 

The  County  Clerk  of  each  County,  or,  in  case  of  separate 
city  or  town  elections,  the  clerk  or  secretary  of  the  Legislative 
body  of  such  city  or  town,  shall  cause  to  be  printed,  on  plain 
white  paper,  without  water  mark  or  endorsements  (except  the 
words  «'  Sample  Ballot  "),  at  least  as  many  copies  of  the  form 
of  ballot  provided  for  use  in  each  voting  precinct  as  there 
shall  be  registered  voters  in  such  precinct.  Such  copy  shall 
be  designated  ''Sample  Ballot,"  and  shall  be  furnished  to 
registered  voters  at  the  office  of  such  clerk  or  secretary  five 
days  before  the  day  fixed  by  law  for  such  election,  and  at  any 
time  during  such  five  days  ;  provided,  that  not  more  than  one 
sample  ballot  shall  be  furnished  to  any  one  voter.  Such  clerk 
or  secretary  shall  cause  to  be  printed,  in  large  clear  type,  on 
cards,  instructions  for  the  guidance  of  electors  in  obtaining 


—  45  — 

and  marking  their  ballots.  He  shall  furnish  twelve  such 
cards  to  the  Board  of  Election  in  each  election  precinct  in  his 
county,  at  the  same  time  and  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
printed  ballots  and  sample  ballots.  The  Board  of  Election 
shall  post  at  least  one  of  such  cards  in  each  booth  or  com- 
partment, provided  for  the  preparation  of  ballots,  and  not  less 
than  three  of  such  cards  at  other  places  in  and  about  the 
polling-place,  on  the  day  of  election.  Sections  12 14  and  1215 
of  this  Code  and  Section  61  of  the  Penal  Code,  shall  also  be 
printed  on  each  of  said  cards. 


[RA 

OF 


UNIVERSITY 


